Machines, such as passenger vehicles, trains, airplanes, marine vessels, construction equipment, etc., include many components that are susceptible to wear and failure over time. For instance, trains operating on a railroad network may each include multiple associated assets, such as one or more locomotives and a series of linked rail vehicles that can, in some cases, span sections of rail over a mile long. Train assets may also include stationary wayside equipment located throughout the railroad network. Each asset can have multiple components that are susceptible to wear and failure over time, which, if not properly addressed, can lead to operational inefficiencies and possible economic penalties associated with delayed operations.
To help reduce instances of asset failure, diagnostic systems have been implemented that detect when operating conditions of assets exceed a threshold and automatically reduce train operations to levels that permit the train's mission to continue without the failure of compromised assets. In some situations, however, the train's mission may require the delivery of a valuable payload according to a strict schedule to avoid economic penalties for tardy delivery. In these situations, train operators or administrators may wish to continue the mission to avoid associated penalties despite being notified that certain operating conditions are outside of as particular threshold. However, when certain train operations are automatically reduced in response to detected operating conditions, such as when locomotive power output is reduced or the train is stopped, the train can be caused to miss its mission deadline and incur associated penalties.
One attempt to provide both automatic and manual control of a train is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,764 (the '764 patent) that issued to Nickles et al., on Jul. 1, 2003. In particular, the '764 patent describes a system for determining train and track conditions and allowing an operator or a controller to control train operations based on the train and track conditions. The system includes a number of onboard and wayside sensors that communicate operating conditions and other information to the train controller. Based on the information received from the sensors, the controller displays control settings and operating conditions to the operator via a display and generates optimized feedback control strategies of various operating parameters of the train, including throttle position, power produced, wheel slip, fuel economy, and locomotive shutdown. The controller allows operators to activate an automatic control mode, in which the controller automatically controls train operations according to its feedback control strategy. When automatic control is not activated, the operator is allowed to respond to control settings and operating conditions displayed by the controller or apply a control strategy suggested by the controller. When a response from the operator is not detected, the controller will apply automatic control based on its determined feedback strategy.
Although the system of the '764 patent may promote more frequent use of predetermined train control strategies, it may not be optimum. Specifically, while the system of the '764 patent may display operational information to an operator for manual control operations, the controller will automatically apply a control strategy if no action from the operator is detected. As a result, operators may be required to continually adjust control settings to prevent the initiation of automatic control at times when automatic control is not desired. This may require operators to devote time and attention to preventing the controller from engaging automatic controls and altering their desired manual control strategy when it conflicts with the automatic control strategy.
The disclosed is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.